Feed for printing-presses.



H, B. GREEN. FEED FOR PRINTING PRESSES. APPLICATION FILED AUGA, 1911.RENEWED JAN. 18. 1913.

Patented July 29, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES H. B. GREEN. FEED FOR PRINTING PRESSES. I APPLICATION FILEDAUG. 4, 1911. RENEWED JAN. 18, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1,068,891. a ented July 29,1913.

WITNESSES Wm k Y m I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY-B. GREEN, OF WOODBURY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SPEED PRESS00., OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

FEED FOR PRINTING-PRESSES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 29, 1913.

Application filed August 4, 1911, Serial No. 642,342. Renewed January18, 1913. Serial No. 742,978.

To all whom it may concern:

1 Be it known that I, HARRY B. GREEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at \Voodbury, county of Gloucester, State of New Jersey, haveinvented a new and useful Feed for Printing-Presses, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanical feeders for successively feedingsheets of paper and the like to machines of various kinds, and relatesmore particularly to a pneumatically operated feeding device wherein asuction device is combined with certain novel adjuncts to produce thedesired action. In machines of this type which have heretofore beendevised it has been proposed to utilize suction as a means for removinga single sheet from a pile of sheets by employing an apertured roller asa suction element and advancin and withdrawing the sheets with respectthereto so that at each operation one sheet would be rolled off andcarried to the point of use.

My present invention is different, in so far as I am aware, fromanything heretofore devised, in that it comprises a suction elementadapted to separate a portion of one sheet from the other sheets andcarry the same into operative relation to a feeding machine, by whichthe entire sheet is removed and substantially simultaneously With thesaid operation, a separating means i is brought into action to preventdisplacement of the remaining sheets.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in theaccompanying drawings one form thereof Which is at. present preferred byme, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory andreliable results, although it is to be understood that the variousinstrumentalities of which my invention consists can be vari ouslyarranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to theprecise ar- Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding partsin the figures.

Referring to the drawingsz-l designates a feed roll suitably mounted ona shaft 2 and provided, in the present instance, with a laterallyextending flange 3 which serves as a guide for the sheet of material. Itwill of course be understood that there may be any desired number ofthese rolls 1, depend.- ing on the size of the sheet, and I have, in thepresent instance, disclosed herein an arrangement where a plurality areemployed.

The flange 3 of each roll 1 is preferably cut away to form an aperture 4at a suitable point, for the purpose of permitting the gripping members5 to pass therethrough into proximity to the sheet of material.

These grippers 5 are secured fast to a rock shaft 6 passing through theseveral rolls 1 and carrying on an end thereof a block 7 fastthereto andhaving a slot 8 therein, adapted to receive a stud 9. In the presentinstance, there are two of these studs 9 suitably secured to a fixedportion 10 of the machine, and located respectively adjacent the gripperengaging and releasing positions. The function of these studs 9 is toengage the block 7 shift the latter and rock the shaft 6 atpredetermined times and thus alternately actuate the grippers 5 to gripand release a sheet of material. This action is of course produced bythe rotation of the rolls 1, which are driven from any suitable sourceof power, and bring the block 7 successively into engagement with thesaid studs 9. In order to adjust this block 7 to cause proper movementof the grippers 5, it is adjustably mounted on the shaft 6 by means of aset-screw 11, or an equivalent securing device.

12 designates a stack of superimposed sheets of material carried by anydesired type of preferably stationary platform 37, located preferably tobring the ends of the sheets into proximity to the roll 1, so that asuitable separating medium may deliver a single sheet to the grippers 5at a certain time. This separating mechanism, in the present instance,comprises a hollow rocking, oroscillatory member or spindle 13, suitablysecured to the fixed frame 10, and having a plurality of ports 14therein, spaced apart each of which communicates with a nozzle 15. Thesenozzles 15 are preferably mounted for oscillation with the spindle 13and in normal position present an angular-1y disposed suction surface 16in proximity to the sheet stack 12.

17 designates a plurality of pins secured to the spindle 13, each pin inthe present instance projecting through a slot 18 formed in each nozzle15 and serving as a means to move the nozzles from one position toanother as the spindle 13 is rocked. It will be noted that the slots 18are preferably somewhat wider than the pins 17 in order to provide aclearance to permit the several nozzles 15 to adjust themselves forunevenness in the sheets of material.

19 designates a tube perferably of flexible material secured to one endof the hollow spindle 13, the other end of the latter being closed, andby which communication is ,es-

tablished with the cylinder 20 of a pumping element 21. It will beunderstood that any conventional type of suction creating device may beemployed and I have therefore deemed it unnecessary to show or describethe same in further detail. The pumping element 21, in the presentinstance, carries on its piston rod 22, a cam roller 23 adapted totravel in the cam groove 24 of the cam 25. This cam 25 preferablyperforms a double function since as here shown a second roller 26 seatsin the groove 23 and has attached thereto a link 27 which joins andoperates a bell crank 28. One end of this bell crank 28 terminates, inthe present instance, in a laterally projecting separator finger 29,adapted in one position of the bell crank to project into engagementwith the stack of sheets 12, thereby holding and preventing displacementof more than the desired sheet. The cam 25 is mounted for rotation onthe shaft 30 which is suitably driven from a main shaft or some othermoving part of the machine to which the feeding mechanism is attached.

The nozzles 15 are oscillated, in the present instance, by means of aconnecting rod 31 secured to an arm 86, attached to the spindle 13 andcarrying at the opposite or lower end, a cam roller 32 adapted to travelin the cam groove 3a, the latter being suitably mounted for rotation onthe shaft 35. It will of course be understood that this shaft 35 isdriven from any suitable source of power. Thus it will be apparent thata reciprocation of the rod 31 will cause rocking of the spindle 18,thereby bringing the pins 17 into engagement with their respectivenozzles 15 and will simultaneously move these latter, as alreadyexplained. Attention is directed to the relation between the two cams 25and 3 1 since the operations con trolled thereby, necessitate alternateactuation of the parts, that is to say, when the nozzles 15 are broughtinto engagement with a sheet of materiahthe separating finger's 29 areremoved, and vice versa. This action will be apparent from Fig. 1wherein the nozzles are shown withdrawing one sheet of material from thestack 12, while the separating fingers have been brought into engagementwith the remaining sheets of the stack and hold the same positively sothat no displacement occurs. 7

In the operation of the device, the sheet stack is first positionedwit-h respect to the feeding elements, and the feed driving means havebeen thrown into operation, the action is as follows, it being assumedthat the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1 :One sheet ofmaterial has been engaged by the grippers 5 and rotation of the roll 1will withdraw said sheet and carry it on the circumference of the rollto a suitable discharge point, at which time the block 7 engages therelease stud 9 causing the shaft 6 to rock and release the gripper 5 sothat the sheet may be delivered to the feed rolls 38 of the machine.During this operation the cams 25 and 34 are rotating, the formerwithdrawing the separator fingers 29 to the position indicated in dottedlines in Fig. 1, and also actuating the pumping element 21 on theexhaust stroke, while the cam brings the nozzles into engagement withthe next sheet to be removed. As soon as this position is reached,further movement of the cams 25 and 34 effects a reversal of theoperation just described, and the pumping element produces a suctionaction through the nozzles, causing one sheet to be held against thenozzles and upon the actuation of the latter to be removed from thestack, while the remaining sheets are engaged and retained in closecontact with each other by the separating fingers 29, which have nowreturned-to the full line position of Fig. 1. Continued movement of thenozzle adjuncts brings the nozzles 15 to the original position seen infull lines in Fig. 1, with one sheet ready to be engaged by the grippers5, which it will be understood have completed one revolution and engagedthe opposite stud 9 so that they again shift to grip the sheet aspreviously described.

It will be apparent that as the shafts 2, 30 and 35 may be actuated fromany suitable source of power and as the movementsof the cams can beproperly timed, I have deemedit unnecessary'to show and describe thesame in detail, and I have also considered it unnecessary to show theentire framework and bearings for the various elements as theconstruction and operation of the same will be apparent to those skilledin this art.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a complete unitarystructure, simple in construction and operation and by means of which asingle sheet of material may be separated and removed from a stack ofmaterial in a positive and accurate manner and delivered to a suitableprinting press or machine of like character. In so far as I am aware, Iam the first in the art to provide a suction means embodying anoscillatory member controlled in a positive manner and actuated atpredetermined intervals in the cycle of operations to engage astationary sheet stack in conjunction with which a separating means isembodied to prevent displacement of more than one sheet of material. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character stated, a table, adapted to support astack of sheets of material, a member suitably supported above saidtable, means for rocking said member, a plurality of laterally extendingnozzles carried by said member, said nozzles being secured forindependent movement relative to. said member and adapted in certainpositions of said member to move in unison therewith to bring saidnozzles into contact with a sheet of material and to elevate the same, aplurality of rolls positioned adjacent said member and operativelylocated with respect to said nozzles, a gripper carried by each rolladapted to engage said sheet of material, and means for exhaust ing airfrom said nozzles.

2. In a device of the character stated, a table adapted to support astack of sheets of material, a member suitably supported above saidtable, means for rocking said member, a plurality of laterally extendingnozzles carried by said member, said nozzles being adapted to move withsaid member in certain positions thereof, and each of said nozzleshaving a limited, free and independent movement relative to said member,a plurality of rolls positioned adjacent said member and operativelylocated with respect to said nozzles, a gripper carried by each rolladapted to engage a sheet of material, and means for exhausting air fromsaid nozzles.

3. In a device of the character stated, a table adapted to support astack of sheets of material, a tubular-member suitably supported abovesaid table, means for rocking said member, said nozzles being securedfor a limited independent movement relative to said member and to bemoved in unison therewith, a plurality of rolls positioned adjacent saidtubular member and opera tively located with respect to said nozzles, agripper carried by each roll adapted to engage a sheet of material,means for rock-.

ing said tubular member to bring said nozzles alternately into properposition with respect to said grippers and into contact with a sheet ofmaterial, and means for exhausting air from said nozzles.

4. In a device of the character stated, a plurality of rolls, a grippercarried by each roll adapted to engage a sheet of material, a stationaryplatform located beneath said rolls and adapted to support saidmaterial, a hollow spindle transversely disposed between said rolls andthe platform for the material and having a plurality of ports therein, aplurality of laterally extending nozzles carried by said spindle andoperatively supported with respect to said grippers, each of saidnozzles having communication with one of said ports, means forexhausting air from. said nozzles, stops secured to said spindle adaptedto limit the movement of said nozzles, a plurality of separator fingerspositioned adjacent one end of said platform, and means for operatingsaid fingers to bring said fingers into engagement with said sheet ofmaterial, alternately with the movement of said nozzles.

HARRY B. GREEN.

Witnesses:

C. D. MOVAY, F. A. NEWTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

